I only have TFA flavor extracts and usually just mix at 15% flavor. Just want to see what everyone does so can learn how to make better juice.
With TFA i usually go considerably higher than i do with say FlavorArt .
Every flavor can vary widely , some are exceptionally weak and some like "banana ripe" are lethally strong.
Oh god banana ripe. I won't even touch the bottle now its so strong. If I remember right last time I used it, I put in 1 drop into 10ml and that was too much.
We don't really go by overall percentage. It's completely dependant on the brand and recipe. Some brands like FlavorArt, Inawera, and Hangsen tend to have really concentrated flavorings and require like 0.25 to 2% of a flavor. Some flavors of TFA and FW can be used up to 10%, but I've never actually gone that high.
My recipes usually range from 10% to 20%. There's two recipes I make that use 5% overall flavor.
It's good to make really tiny batches of single flavors at different percentages to pinpoint how strong they are. It's a long process but helps you know how much of a certain concentrate to add to a mix.
12% - 18%, the majority TFA as well. Did do higher percentages for a short while, but found myself clearing my throat way too frequently. Not coughing as such, but yeah took that as a sign I should lower it. Went away at 18%, so that's my max amount now, but most of them are closer to 16%. Mostly bakery flavors, fresh ones are closer to 12%.
I generally don't look at the total flavor percentage but the actual flavors alone. If I see a recipe that is calling for, lets say, 12% TFA Chai- I say "Oh hell no" and lower it to 8% or lower. I don't even like going above 6% on any flavor because I feel like its just excessive to use that much of any flavor in a mix.
But then again I can't say I am a great mixer, I am good at tweaking recipes but not making my own original ones.
- Favorite recipe that is copied: 22.5%
- Favorite recipe that is tweaked: 13%
- My Original(Vape-able) recipes vary from: 6.5-9.6%
edit; formatting
It depends on the flavors. Usually, if I'm not familiar with a flavor, I will use e-liquid-recipes recommended average, then adjust from there. I will usually end up somewhere around 10-15%.
edit: To add, in my experience, TFA flavors will usually need complementary flavors (either TFA or not) to hit a sweet spot, which means it can need more % to get what you're after. Capella and Flavorah sometimes makes crazy strong juices that are spot on and only need a little to get big flavor. (ex. Flavorah's rich cinnamon is only one drop per 30ml in one of my recipes and it still comes out strong.)
Its trial and error. Lets assume im doing single flavor mixes. If i was using TFA Philippine Mango, i could see using like 15% of that alone because its so subtle and weak (although its too earthy to use by itself), but if i was using say TFA Honeydew i would probably do 5% because its so potent. I would say 14-8% is a good range.
Using VG as my carrier and PG based nicotine and flavors I rarely deviate very far from an 80/20 ratio (without having to add additional PG). When I do it is rarely by more than 2-3%.
For anyone that wants to do the math this is with 36mg/ml base and a finished product of 3mg/ml.
I tend to stay in the 10-13% range with my recipes, which typically contain flavors from at least three different manufacturers. Recipes with a large amount of Inawera or Capella flavors are usually a bit lower (6-10%) because their flavorings tend to be more potent than other brands -- especially Inawera's flavorings, which are extremely strong. But recipes with a large amount of Flavor West flavors will often contain 14-18% flavoring since they are usually less potent. But recipes with flavorings from multiple companies are usually around 10-13% or thereabouts.